The Latest: Brazilians vote in a tense runoff as Lula faces Trump ally Flávio Bolsonaro

Brazilians are voting Sunday in a presidential runoff that pits leftist incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva against Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, a far-right ally of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Bolsonaro, the son of imprisoned former President Jair Bolsonaro, bested Lula by more than 2.2 million votes in the first round of the election earlier this month. More than 33 million of the nearly 160 million registered voters did not turn out.

The difference between the two candidates is stark. Bolsonaro and Lula have opposing ideological views on issues ranging from U.S.-Brazil relations and climate change to social welfare. A win for Bolsonaro would signify a pivot to the right by Latin America’s most populous country and its largest economy in a year when Trump allies have notched victories in Chile, Peru and Colombia.

Here's the latest:

Eduardo Bolsonaro, presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro’s brother and a 42-year-old former lawmaker, spoke to supporters at a polling station in Miami, Florida. “What we really need is freedom,” Eduardo Bolsonaro said, as he called for judicial reform. “Most of the people here are coming to vote to free Jair Bolsonaro ... we need to reform the judiciary, we need to free the political prisoners.” Eduardo Bolsonaro was sentenced for illegally lobbying the Trump administration. It is unclear whether Eduardo Bolsonaro cast a ballot. Pretrial detainees can vote in elections, but those convicted with a final sentence cannot as their political rights are suspended. Eduardo Bolsonaro’s trial has been finalized and earlier this month, Moraes issued a warrant for his arrest. Eduardo Bolsonaro has lived in the U.S. since 2025 and experts say it is unlikely he will be extradited.

With minutes to go before poll closing time, both presidential candidates are asking Brazil’s electoral court to extend voting hours in some cities. The request from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva came after issues in nine states with buses that provide transportation to polls. Flávio Bolsonaro’s is due to heavy rains in the nation’s south. Polls were expected to close nationwide at 5 p.m.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Kássio Nunes, who also heads the country’s electoral court, told journalists in capital Brasilia that some cities are indeed experiencing bus shortages, but did not answer whether the voting hours will be extended. He did not address Bolsonaro’s request in his comments.

While leaving the White House on Sunday, President Donald Trump declined to endorse anyone in Brazil’s presidential election. “I don’t want to get into that,” he told reporters.

But the president added that his administration was tracking the race. “We are watching,” Trump said.

Brazilian newspapers are stressing that Sunday’s runoff between Lula and Bolsonaro will be a nail-biter, though Bolsonaro’s campaign is more optimistic after recent polls.

Folha de S.Paulo cited an analysis by its own pollster to say the election result is still open, but Lula will have to see his voters increase turnout to close the 2.2 million-vote gap between the two in the first round.

Rio de Janeiro-based O Globo, owned by Brazil’s biggest media company, reported that Bolsonaro, who was handpicked by his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, overcame initial fears in the right-wing camp that he would not be a competitive candidate because of recent corruption investigations involving him.

Young and old trickled in and out of a Catholic church in Rio de Janeiro’s famed Copacabana neighborhood, where army trucks dotted the beachfront. Some people wore stickers displaying the number 13, corresponding to the digits Lula voters punch into the electronic voting machines, while others the number 22, representing Flávio Bolsonaro at the polls.

Religion became a central theme in the lead-up to the election, after a comment about Jesus by Bolsonaro went viral and triggered fears among many Catholics that he might intend to remove Our Lady of Aparecida as Brazil’s patron saint.

Maria Helena Vilanova, a 76-year-old Bolsonaro voter, said her candidate of choice would never do such a thing. She accused Lula of “giving crumbs” to the poor and said that his famed Bolsa Familia welfare program discourages people from seeking work.

“I shouldn’t have to put up with beggars asking me for money,” she said. “Brazil isn’t growing enough as a country because we’re exploited.”

Jorge Lemos, 72, said he was on his way to vote for Lula. He recalled the quotas introduced during the incumbent’s first two terms, from 2003 to 2010, which enabled his children to study and become a doctor and a dentist.

“I feel like I could never repay the debt I owe Lula,” Lemos, who is originally from Belem in the Amazon region, said. “I went into the church to ask Our Lady of Aparecida to give us strength so that the Brazilian people vote for Lula.”

Brazil was sharply divided across its five main regions in the first round of the presidential election.

Flávio Bolsonaro won in three of the country’s five regions, but Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took the second most populous by wide margins. Bolsonaro won in the populous and rich Southeast, where Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais states lie. They will be the key battlegrounds in Sunday's runoff.

Bolsonaro, 45, carried the agribusiness hub of the country’s Center-West and easily won in the South, which borders Uruguay and Argentina. Lula erased much of Bolsonaro’s gains by winning in the Northeast and also triumphed in the North, the region that includes the Amazon rainforest.

Luzia da Souza, who runs a bar in a middle-class neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, is a longtime supporter of incumbent Lula and identified herself as "a Black woman from the periphery.”

“Black people’s lives greatly improved during Lula’s terms,” she said, and blamed Congress — which is largely right-wing — for the slow pace of reform.

“A president doesn’t govern on his own,” da Souza said. “But Lula is a man of the people and he knows what it’s like to be poor. I find it impossible not to vote for him.”

Anderson Falcão, a 43-year-old journalist in Brasilia who sported a red shirt in support of Lula, said he worried about Bolsonaro’s long-term political vision, which he called “exclusionary.”

“It’s a project that harms the less fortunate, harms the worker, women, the forest, the Amazon,” he said.

Brazil’s left was caught off guard when Flávio Bolsonaro bested incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by over 2 million votes in Brazil’s first-round election.

Since then, it has made a clear bet on an unprecedented wave of digital activism and street protests to support Lula. The shift signals a turning point for the left, which has historically struggled to counter the far-right’s dominant online presence and savvy digital strategy.

Between the campaign’s launch on Aug. 16 and up to the first round, Lula and Bolsonaro had more or less the same number of interactions, according to data analytics company Bites. But since the beginning of the second round, the incumbent’s profiles received around 111 million interactions against Bolsonaro’s 31 million, it said.

Lula voted in the city of Sao Bernardo do Campo, where he began his political career as a union leader in the 1960s.

“I am thankful to the Brazilian people. What people did to me in recent days is something I cannot repay,” he said before casting his vote and holding Brazil’s flag in front of the cameras.

He said he was still emotional about Saturday’s demonstration of support from voters in São Paulo. “I don’t think Paulista Avenue had so many people in any political event.”

“It is a lot of generosity, a lot of care, a lot of love. I will be forever grateful,” Lula said.

First lady Rosângela da Silva, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and other allies accompanied Lula to the polling station.

Voting is mandatory for literate Brazilians aged 18 to 70. But that has never been a real consideration for nonvoters, who must either submit a formal justification online or at a polling station, or pay a small fine of less than $1.

More than 33 million people did not vote in the first round of the elections on Oct. 4. Some of those were hospitalized, living overseas or working outside their voting areas. And others just chose not to.

Unexcused absences in three consecutive elections freeze tax IDs, block nonvoters from applying to state jobs, hinders loans from state banks, and delays the issuance of passports. For those who don’t want to choose a candidate even when they show up, they can cast blank or null votes.

Fabianne Borges Santoro, a 45-year-old physiotherapist who lives in the neighborhood where Bolsonaro voted, said she voted for change.

“The Workers’ Party has been in power for a long time and the voice of the people is saying that we need change to see improvements in security and the cost of living,” she said, wearing a top featuring Brazil’s national colors, yellow and green. “Things are really expensive and taxes are too high.”

Santoro said she once voted for Lula’s party but now associates it with corruption, particularly after the so-called Operation Car Wash that started in 2014, when the Workers’ Party was in power and entangled dozens of politicians.

Roulen Azeredo, a 76-year-old army reservist, said he had always voted right. He also echoed the desire for a shift in the country’s direction.

“The current government did nothing,” said Azeredo, who hopes Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently serving a 27-year sentence for attempting a coup, will be freed if the former president’s eldest son wins. “His imprisonment is a disgrace.”

Presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro voted at a local school in Rio de Janeiro just after 8 a.m., accompanied by his wife, Fernanda Bolsonaro. Wearing a light yellow shirt, he smiled and waved to supporters waiting to see him in the rain.

“The time of real change has arrived,” Bolsonaro told journalists. “Brazil can’t go on another four years on its current trajectory.”

As Bolsonaro voted, supporters of the opposition candidate shouted “Lula, thief, your place is in prison,” while fans of the incumbent responded with clapping and the chant “Olé olé olé ola, Lula!” The two anthems are common in demonstrations.

In Brazil, voting is fully electronic — meaning votes are counted much more quickly than in some other countries.

Polls opened at 8 a.m. and will close at 5 p.m. Brasilia time (2000 GMT) in most of the country.

On the ballot: the presidential face-off between Lula and Bolsonaro and six gubernatorial races. Votes are tallied quickly because each ballot box calculates results locally and prints a paper summary. The encrypted data is transmitted via secure networks to the nation’s top electoral court in capital Brasilia, which aggregates and publishes the counts within hours.

The system has been in place since the 1990s with few questioning its efficiency. One of its critics is former President Bolsonaro.

Voters line up to enter a polling station during the presidential runoff in the Rocinha favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is seeking reelection, waves after voting in the presidential runoff in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro makes the victory sign after voting in the presidential runoff in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Soldiers stand guard during the presidential runoff in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Lucas Landau)

A voter stands at a polling station during a presidential runoff in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

A voter stands at a polling station during a presidential runoff in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

A man votes in the presidential runoff in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

A supporter of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is seeking reelection, lines up at a polling station during a presidential runoff in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro makes the victory sign after voting in the presidential runoff in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A man wrapped in a Brazilian flag arrives to vote in the presidential runoff in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Red T-shirts depicting Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is running for reelection, and yellow T-shirts depicting opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro hang for sale outside a building ahead of Brazil's presidential runoff election in Autazes, Amazonas state, Brazil, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros)

Supporters of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is running for reelection, crowd Paulista Avenue as his campaign vehicle passes during his final campaign rally ahead of Brazil's presidential runoff election in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

A supporter wears a mask of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is running for reelection, during his final campaign rally on Copacabana beach a day ahead of the presidential runoff election in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

FILE - Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, right, who is running for reelection, gestures as opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro stands beside him during a televised presidential debate one week before the runoff election in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File)

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilians were voting in Sunday’s polarizing presidential runoff between incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro, a contest that will determine whether the U.S. will significantly expand its growing influence in Latin America.

Polls showed the two candidates, who need more than 50% of the vote to become Brazil’s next leader in January, in a neck-and-neck race. The election pits the left-of-center veteran politician Lula against Bolsonaro, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump and the son of imprisoned former President Jair Bolsonaro.

With minutes to go before poll closing time, both presidential candidates were asking Brazil’s electoral court to extend voting hours in some cities. Silva's request came after issues in nine states with buses that provide transportation to polls. Flávio Bolsonaro’s request was due to heavy rains in Brazil’s south. Polls were expected to close nationwide at 5 p.m. local time.

Flávio Bolsonaro bested Lula by more than 2.2 million votes in the first round of the election earlier this month. However, more than 33 million voters out of nearly 160 million did not turn out.

Bolsonaro and Lula have opposing ideological views on issues ranging from U.S.-Brazil relations and climate change to social welfare.

A win for Bolsonaro would signify a pivot to the right by Latin America's most populous country and its largest economy, in a year when Trump allies have scored victories in Chile, Peru and Colombia. A victory for Lula would leave Brazil and Mexico with left-of-center leaders.

In many ways, Brazil’s runoff vote is another tight rematch between the country’s two polarized political forces that trigger passion as much as loathing. Four years ago, Lula beat Bolsonaro’s father by the narrowest margin since the country’s return to democracy in 1985.

Lula, who first governed Brazil between 2003 and 2010, has faced a tough reelection battle because of concerns about the cost of living and security. Bolsonaro made a tough-on-crime approach the cornerstone of his campaign and pledged to bring down food costs.

Both have been hit by corruption suspicions involving family members and allies, with Bolsonaro implicated in a sprawling scandal rocking Brazil. Lula previously spent more than a year in prison on corruption convictions that were eventually annulled.

Bolsonaro’s admission that he accepted about $12 million from disgraced former banker Daniel Vorcaro to produce a film on his father’s life has cast a shadow over his campaign. He is under investigation for corruption, money laundering and tax evasion in connection with the case.

As Bolsonaro voted at a school in Rio de Janeiro, his supporters shouted “Lula, thief, your place is in prison” while Lula’s supporters chanted in his support.

“The time of real change has arrived,” Bolsonaro said. “Brazil can’t go on for another four years on its current trajectory.”

In the lead-up to the vote, Lula frequently portrayed Bolsonaro, whose father is under house arrest for attempting a coup, as a threat to democracy. Bolsonaro has promised to seek an amnesty for his father if elected.

Eduardo Bolsonaro, Flávio Bolsonaro’s brother and a 42-year-old former lawmaker, spoke to supporters at a polling station in Miami, Florida.

“What we really need is freedom,” he said, calling for judicial reform. “Most of the people here are coming to vote to free Jair Bolsonaro... we need to reform the judiciary, we need to free the political prisoners.”

Lula, trying to lure undecided voters, has invested in costly incentives. His government endorsed a debt relief program for small businesses and promised free public transportation on weekends. A major win then came when the Senate backed a popular proposal to end the six-day working week.

Lula voters turned out Sunday driven by his history of supporting marginalized people and working to lift Brazilians out of poverty.

“Lula is a man of the people and he knows what it’s like to be poor,” Luzia da Souza, who runs a bar in Rio de Janeiro, said. "I find it impossible not to vote for him.”

Anderson Falcão, a 43-year-old journalist in Brasilia who sported a red shirt in support of Lula, said he worried about Bolsonaro’s long-term political vision, which he called “exclusionary.”

“It’s a project that harms the less fortunate, harms the worker, women, the forest, the Amazon,” he said.

Bolsonaro voters, many of whom wore yellow and green Brazil jerseys in support of the senator, said they want change.

“Things are really expensive and taxes are too high,” Fabianne Borges Santoro, a 45-year-old physiotherapist in Rio de Janeiro, said. She added that she once voted for Lula’s party but now associates it with corruption.

Kelvin Gomes Pimental, a 28-year-old data analyst in Brasilia, voted for a third-party candidate in the first round, making his vote a decisive one in this election. He ultimately decided to vote for Lula.

“It’s not even about Flávio himself. It’s also very much about the management of the other Bolsonaro government. He wanted to stage a coup,” he said. “These issues scare me a little.”

Diogo Furtado, a 35-year-old Uber driver in Rio de Janeiro, didn’t vote the first time because of his work, but said he'll vote blank on Sunday. He said that neither candidate convinced him.

“Brazil needs a new candidate,” Furtado said. “But unfortunately our country has become dominated by two names: Lula and Bolsonaro."

In Bahia state, a stronghold for Lula, whose voters tend to live in areas that depend more heavily on buses, at least 75 public buses were prevented from leaving municipal garages during the presidential runoff vote, according to a state electoral judge. He ordered the arrest of the mobility secretary of the capital Salvador, Pablo Souza, in relation to the case.

Mayor Bruno Reis, a Bolsonaro ally, blamed trade unionists for illegally sticking Workers’ Party materials onto transit vehicles for the measure.

President of Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court, Kassio Nunes Marques, confirmed that electoral authorities received a report on problems with buses in Bahia that is being analyzed. He did not confirm if voting would be extended, which Lula requested in Salvador and Sao Paulo, where issues with public transportation were also reported in the city with a mayor allied with Bolsonaro.

“We will not be robbed by mayors, governors or businessmen," Lula told press. "These people need to respect democracy."

Bolsonaro did not immediately comment on the issue.

International observers earlier in the day said that voting was occurring peacefully and with transparency and did not immediately comment on the incident.

Lula criticized the U.S. president before Brazil's election, speaking about the risks of U.S. intervention in Brazilian elections after the Trump administration imposed high tariffs against Brazilian exports and classified drug-trafficking groups as foreign terrorist organizations. Experts say the moves may have been intended to make Lula look soft on crime.

Flávio Bolsonaro has touted his proximity to the White House and insisted that Brazil needs to strike better deals with the Trump administration, including in the rare minerals economy. Brazil estimates that its deposits hold up to 21 million tons, second only to China. He denies he's being helped by the U.S. government.

Trump said Sunday that he is watching the election but declined to endorse a candidate.

Voting in Brazil is conducted electronically and the result is usually available within hours after polling stations close at 5 p.m. (2000 GMT) in Brasilia.

Savarese reported from Sao Paulo. Brigida reported from Brasilia.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro flashes a victory sign as he arrives in Brasilia, Brazil, on the day of the presidential runoff election, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is seeking reelection, waves after voting in the presidential runoff in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro and his wife Fernanda Bolsonaro give a thumbs during the runoff presidential election in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izuierdo)

People walk along the beach during the presidential runoff in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Lucas Landau)

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is seeking reelection, waves after voting in the presidential runoff in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is seeking reelection, wears glasses given to him by a supporter after voting in the presidential runoff in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Voters line up at a polling station during the presidential runoff in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is seeking reelection, displays a Brazilian flag before voting in a presidential runoff in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Voters line up at a polling station during the presidential runoff in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Voters line outside a polling station up during the presidential runoff in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

A supporter of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is seeking reelection, lines up at a polling station during a presidential runoff in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro and his wife Fernanda Bolsonaro give a thumbs during the runoff presidential election in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Voters wait to cast their ballots during a presidential runoff in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Lucas Landau)

Red T-shirts depicting Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is running for reelection, and yellow T-shirts depicting opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro hang for sale outside a building ahead of Brazil's presidential runoff election in Autazes, Amazonas state, Brazil, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros)

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, right, who is running for reelection, and his running mate Geraldo Alckmin raise their arms in unison at the end of their final campaign rally, a day ahead of the presidential runoff election in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, center, leaves after his final campaign rally a day ahead of the presidential runoff election in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Supporters of opposition presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro cheer during his final campaign rally a day ahead of the presidential runoff election in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Lucas Landau)

A girl standing on a man's shoulders reaches out amid a crowd of supporters of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is running for reelection, during his final campaign rally, a day ahead of the presidential runoff election in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)